Help us deliver 2,100 handmade patchwork quilts this winter – in honour of Caleb Jordan Ingram!

Help us deliver 2,100 handmade plain and patchwork quilts this winter – in honour of Caleb Jordan Ingram!

In loving memory of little Caleb Jordan Ingram and all other patients at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, the Winter Drive will be donating 2100 handmade plain and patchwork quilts to keep those most in need warm this winter.

The donation is being made by Mahindra South Africa, Pink Loerie® Foundation, Ways of Walking Foundation, People of South Africa Foundation, We Love Proud, United Drives, Human Rights and Equality Foundation, International Research Institute, Maraai’s Soup Kitchen, HJB Handmade, Quick Quilting, Giana Online Laundry Centurion, Blackwaters River Lodge & Mashie Golf Course, Amber Guest Lodge, ETC Pub Centurion and Three Times J’s.

Caleb Jordan Ingram’s Story

These organisations were moved by Jordan and Eloi Chandler’s journey with little Caleb to honour his will to fight and the joy he brought to everyone he touched during his brief but impactful life.   

“Caleb was our miracle baby boy. He was born on 6 Dec. 2022 with a very rare genetic medical condition, mitochondrial disorder, for which there is no known cure. He was rushed away to NICU the moment he came into this world and after two weeks in NICU, we were flown with Air Mercy Services to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital,” explained Jordan and Eloi.

The little boy was hospitalised for three months and underwent multiple tests to establish why he needed a tracheostomy and to be on a ventilator. The couple were then trained to be his 24/7 medical parents to be able to take him home. 

After DNA samples were sent to the US, specialists diagnosed Caleb with a genetic mutation that affected his major organs. As his heart function deteriorated Jordan and Eloi moved back to Cape Town to be closer to the Red Cross Hospital and to give Caleb every possible chance. He flourished, reaching milestones every month. 

“We had seven glorious and happy months with our little boy at home before he unfortunately picked up a virus which his compromised immune and heart couldn’t fight, and we lost him at 10 months and 11 days old on the 17th of October, 2023. Our loss and grief have been immense. He will forever be the light of our lives,” expressed Jordan and Eloi.

The couple would like to try to give Caleb a brother or sister and have been advised to do IVF with donor eggs after undergoing multiple tests at a fertility clinic. “It is our dream to have another baby,” they said.

You Can Help Even More People Stay Warm This Winter

With your generous assistance, the donating organisations plan to distribute a further 2,100 handmade plain and patchwork quilts to the various charities that they support throughout the year. 

They, therefore, request all corporates, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies, colleagues, friends, and family to purchase a handmade patchwork quilt for only R250 for donation. By doing so, you stand a chance to win one of two hampers to the value of R5,500 each (full details and online store available on www.pinkloerefoundation.com). 

You can also personalise the handmade plain or patchwork quilt or quilts with a special message at an additional cost of R20 per quilt and select the beneficiary to whom you’d like it delivered.

The quilts and other donations will be transported in a Mahindra Scorpio S11 kindly on loan from Mahindra South Africa in support of the cause.

Your Contribution Can Make a Difference

The campaign further aims to bring awareness to the causes and organisations supported by the Winter Drive through in-person engagements, social media posts, and newsletters.

“We look forward to embarking on this project with John and Johann from the Pink Loerie® Foundation as we have on many other occasions. They bring absolute joy to people in times of distress and disaster. But beyond this, these kind gestures show a community that you don’t often see, working behind-the-scenes with kind donors to make these types of initiatives possible,” says Gilbert Martin, Founder, People of South Africa Foundation.

“Your contribution, no matter how small, can make a difference in someone’s life,” adds John O’Neil, Vice Chairperson of the Pink Loerie® Foundation. “You may feel that it’s a small drop in a huge tank, but we believe that every drop helps to fill that tank.”

To purchase and donate one or more quilts to the Winter Drive campaign visit https://pinkloeriefoundation.org/products/

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